Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: If anything, the hugely prolific Motor City mainstay that is Omar S seems to be getting even more prolific as time goes on. His vast catalogue grows once more here with Fun House, which finds Alister Fawnwoda exploring a wide range of dance music styles alongside guests such as FXHE regular John F.M., plus Mitchell Yoshida, Super Cool Wired, Troi Alexis, Tyesha Blount and more, with all the production, lyrics and mixing taken care of by Omar S himself. The tracks range from seductive deep house to edgy mechanical techno, dubbed out downbeat joints and smooth electronic Detroit soul. It is yet another crucial chapter in the FXHE and Omar S story.

Review: We didn't see this coming but we're very much delighted it has: the peerless dub techno don Steve O'Sullivan with a full length of past triumphs and unreleased gems on Nina Kraviz's always adventurous Trip label is always going to be worth hearing. The Brit stretches his legs and pulls out all the stops here to cover plenty of ground while reaming true to his signature sound design excellence: bouncy, minimal but strobe-lit cuts like 'Kesk', twisted 90s techno sounds like 'Grun', barely-there IDM-adjacent sounds like 'Groente' and ice cold dub cuts like 'Botala'. A real masterclass.

Review: This is the third full-length album by veteran Swedish producer Ola Obergman who has been producing since the turn of the millennium on respected imprints such as Skam, Borft and Futhur Electronix. A heavy collection of 808-based fusion in classic Pariter style, Mirror Counterpart is a cohesive effort featuring some truly impressive productions; from the early proto-house sound of the title track, to the Detroit influenced hi-tech soul cuts on the second disc - 'Indeterminacy' and 'Stellar Triangulation' respectively - going into 4/4 robot funk on the second disc with 'Alice Matter' and 'Uncertiny Principle' being the highlights. Superb.

Review: Odopt's Snaker 011, the first release in five years by Snaker and the tenth in their catalogue, marks a compelling full-length debut for the duo. Known for their hypnotic and freaky sound on labels like [Emotional] Especial, Hivern Discs, and Born Free, Odopt delivers a "contemporary library sound" for Snaker Records that defies conventional dancefloor or home listening categorizations. Instead, it offers a unique cinematic soundscape for a fresh auditory experience. Highlights include 'Antimilitarist,' with its experimental broken beat that's subdued yet intriguing. 'Barfold' presents a movie-like quality with a unique groove and production. 'Spakra' features a dark, slow groove with metallic sounds, echo, and a slight EBM influence. 'Mangrove' stands out with its otherworldly, alien sounds. 'Orch Noise' rounds out the album with its atmospheric and distinct character. For those seeking something different and unique, Odopt is here for you.

Review: 'Power Starved/Human Waste' is as scary to hear as it is to read the track title. As far as album openers go, it certainly sets the scene vividly. A dark, dystopian, murky futurism where people - or at least their ears - listen from beneath the boot of oppressive forces, inaudible vocals echoing and expanding, reverberating and dissipating into a distance we can never really hear because of how forceful foregrounded sounds are. Industrial, EBM, noise, elektro-punk. There are many ways to describe what's here but they all point to a 21st Century cloaked in darkness and anxiety. The irony, of course, is that this is a very human expressionism, despite the harsh machines that seem to dominate the soundscapes. The distorted screams and thumping bass drums of 'Safety Net' perfectly summarise the point.

Review: Those who've been paying close attention will know that Alex 'Omar' Smith has been mixing things up musically of late, veering away from the deep Detroit house he's famed for in order to explore a wider range of influences. New album "You Want" doesn't exactly reverse this trend, but it is far more rooted in his particular brand of seductive, off-kilter deepness and techno-tinged hypnotism than recent singles. That's undeniably a good thing, because nobody does crunchy, machine driven club jams better than the Motor City producer. There are nods towards Italian style piano house, disco, broken beat, jazz funk, Masters at Work and - more surprisingly - industrial techno (see the filthy closing cut) - but the resultant cuts don't sound like anything other than tried-and-tested Omar-S club jams.

Review: The second part of Omar S' You For Letting Me Be Myself album in vinyl form sees another 8 tracks across four sides of wax; aside from the '80s inflected sounds of the album's title track, the 303 workout of "Ready My Black Asz" finds itself with the dubbed out loops of "Messier Sixty Eight". As a bonus for those who already have the album, this part contains two vinyl exclusive tracks; the soothing deepness of "She's Sah Hero Nik" and the delayed organ weirdness of "Broken Bamalance Horn" - both more than worth the price of admission alone.

Review: Oasis Collaborating is the name of two different double albums that Omar S and Shadow Ray put out under their Oasis alias back in 2005. They are both hugely original and essential works of stripped back Motor City house music perfection. This one is packed with gems like the wispy pads and metallic synths of 'Oasis Fifteen', the low slung rawness of 'Oasis Seventeen' and the brightly, optimistic melodies and twanging chords of 'Oasis Twenty Five'. Each of the tracks sounds like they were recorded live, with two masters of their machines just jamming away, tweaking knobs and cooking up pure house magic.

Review: For this new 2xLP mini-record for Mord, British music producer Rich Jones aka. Operator slips off the surgical gloves and wriggles his way into a set of special occasional, crusaders' gauntlets. Only a pilgrim or knight's hand could wrangle this much grit and hate from the techno production process. As we listen, we digest the accompanying, deathly mysterious poem - "the transmutation of the shadow, an ingress of novelty, under austere skies, the spirits of the city awaken" - and we're left to wonder just what collective spirit Jones may be getting at. 'Running From The Man', 'Evasions', 'Bottom Of The List'... it's almost as if the combo of technocracy, urbanism and austerity is too much for the average person to handle, and that there's a latent rebellion in us all somewhere! But despite the prophetic theme and title, Jones prefers to fight fire with fire: his sound design is barky, scientific and at times trancey ('Watashi No Gyangu' has a particularly amazing drone undercurrent to it), suggesting urban denizens must harness, not run from, the means of its own oppression.

Review: It may have taken a while - his massive debut single 'Hyph Mngo' was released 12 years ago - but Joy Orbison has finally got round to recording his debut album. It's a highly personal affair, peppered with speech snippets from various family members (including his mum, dad, sister, cousins and famous uncle, Ray Keith). It's a narrative device that works well, providing a unifying thread throughout a woozy, musically eclectic concoction that sees the now veteran UK producer give his distinct spin on ambient, slow house, two-step garage, deep house, post-dubstep beats, dubbed-out soundscapes, British bass music, experimental electronica, cutting-edge deep D&B and much more besides. It's perhaps not the all-out assault on the dancefloor some may have expected, but it is a genuinely brilliant and entertaining album.

Review: Early 1990s classic The Green Album features iconic Orbital tracks like their breakthrough single 'Chime' and the legendary comedown tune 'Belfast.' After the success of 'Chime,' Pete Tong signed Orbital to London/FFRR Records and granted them the creative freedom to craft an album beyond the typical rave formula. Influenced by Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire, the Hartnoll brothers came through and then some as they aimed to create a fully immersive and innovative album full of ambition which helped the duo become pioneers in electronic music, influencing artists from Bjork to Bicep and collaborating with figures like Madonna and Kraftwerk. Their second self-titled album solidified their visionary status, while their groundbreaking live performances are also by now the stuff of legend.

Review: After the 30 Something retrospective that landed during 2022, comes a new Orbital album proper, Optical Delusion, set to be accompanied by a busy summer of gig and festival dates by the looks of it. The album's taster single 'Dirty Rat' was a corker, too, full of post-Brexit/Boris bile and a biting vocal from Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson, not to mention some striking Orbital musical trademarks. It could well point the way forward for more interesting collaborations - perhaps taking a leaf out of Leftfield's book - on the album, though only time will tell. Either way, a serious portion of new material from one of the dance world's most enduring and best loved acts will be feverishly anticipated.

Review: Orbital remain titans of the global electronic scene which is no doubt why their self-titled album from 1991 now gets mastered and reissued for this year's Record Store Day. A pioneering work in electronic music, this landmark debut is a rich world of driving drums, hypnotic melodies, and intricate soundscapes. From the propulsive energy of the seminal 'Chime' to the dreamy ambience of 'Belfast,' each track showcases the duo's mastery of rhythm and texture. Orbital's use of innovative sampling techniques and atmospheric synths creates a distinct sonic universe that still stands them apart and helps make this a timeless classic that has influenced generations of electronic artists ever since.

Review: Finally getting around to celebrating their 30th Anniversary, Orbital here serve up a whopping deluxe boxset of exclusives. Built around their fabled live show, this veritable cornucopia of material contains reworks, remakes, remixes and reimaginings of all your favourite tracks, including Satan, The Box, Impact and Belfast. Jon Hopkins, Logic1000, Yotto, ANNA, Shanti Celeste and - yes - Stephen Hawking all feature.

Review: This new and career spanning album A Beginner's Guide is a 'best of' collection tailored for both new or curious Orbital fans. Whether you discovered the duo after their iconic Glastonbury 2024 performance, during their global tour celebrating the Green & Brown albums, or through a track featured in a film, this collection offers an ideal introduction and recap of what makes them one of the most enduring acts in all of electronic music. It compiles there Hartnoll brothers's biggest hits in their edited forms and album includes utter classics like 'Chime,' 'Belfast,' and 'Halcyon' all of which give a fine a taste of the duo's influential electronic sound, all in one package for the first time ever.

Review: Originally released in 1991 when most music journalists believed it was impossible to release a good dance album, Orbital's eponymous debut album remains one of the most significant sets of its' time - proof that techno artists (as the Hartnoll brothers were referred to at the time) can make killer full-length excursions. Here the album returns in freshly remastered form, via a superb spruce-up job that makes it sound heavier and more sonically refined than ever before. The closing three-track suite of 'Chime (Live)', 'Midnight (Live)' and 'Belfast' remains unbeatable, but there's plenty of sonic brilliance elsewhere across the album - not least the epic (and constantly changing) 'Desert Storm', the saucer-eyed, piano-sporting bounce of 'Fahrenheit 303' and the bleep-influenced excellence of 'Steel Cube Idolatry'.

Review: Orpheu The Wizard is a Dutch DJ and co-founder of the infamous but sadly now defunct Red Light Radio. Coming through for the fifth edition of the Sound Of Love International series - which showcases the eclectic musical tastes of the DJs who play at the Love International festival in Croatia - this fresh selectors' comp hears Orpheu crate-fiddle through cosmic disco, Balearic pop, synthwave and ambient, by the likes of Khidja, Benedek, Donato Dozzy and Gaussian Curve.

Review: Last year, someone set up an online petition calling for Warp to re-release The Other People Place's brilliant Lifestyles Of The Laptop Cafe album on wax. Happily, Warp has responded to the strength of feeling from electronica fans - most of whom bristled at the high online prices for second hand copies - and re-pressed it. Drexciya man James Stinson's 2001 solo set remains a timeless electronic classic; a perfectly pitched and immaculately produced fusion of downtempo electro rhythms, spacey electronics and twinkling synthesizer melodies. In fact, you'll struggle to find a better electro album full stop, making this reissue an essential purchase for anyone not lucky enough to own an original copy.

Review: With a run of knockout singles on XL reaching back to 2016, Tom and Ed Russell finally deliver the album we always knew they had in them. Overmono is a project which happily gorges on the best bits of rave culture and spits back out something fresh, universal and yet still headsy enough to keep the underground faithful happy. Good Lies builds on that promise in every way, threading in anthemic vocal hooks and massive emotive brushstrokes without losing that legit bite which has made them so enduringly popular. 'Is U' has an eye on the charts for sure, with plenty of big festival moments bagged along the way for their live shows and everyone else DJ sets. 'Walk Thru Water' hits a more melancholic note with St. Panther on vocals, but it's still masterfully crafted to bring out joyous escapism with gnarly synth flex on top. Something for everyone, then.

Review: Overmono have become real techno darlings in the last two years. And rightly so - they have served up a fine run of EPs in that time which now brings us to their debut album Good Lies. They are also an award-winning live act who have brought new energy and invention to techno as well as a next level grasp of sound design. As such the pair are two of the most revered artists in the UK with a hardcore fan base who pack out their every gig. They will find plenty to love here on an adventurous record that features all the hallmarks you would expect of this duo as well as plenty of freshness.

Review: Kelly Lee Owens' fourth studio album marks a significant shift in Owens' musical journey, embodying themes of freedom and escapism. Dream State emerges from a period of inner transformation following a break-up, and is a testament to collaboration, featuring producer-writer contributions from electronic music luminaries Bicep, Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and George Daniel of The 1975. The synergy between these artists infuses Dreamstate with a rich, dynamic sound that blends Owens' ethereal vocals with innovative electronic beats and lush production. A range of emotions and sonic landscapes, offering both introspective and liberating experiences.

Review: 'Dreamstate' is Kelly Lee Owens' fourth studio album, hinting at a relatively bouncier electro-pop direction - in stark contrast to her much demurer, rougher-hewn earlier albums. Owens comments that Dreamstate is "the sound of a person letting loose and letting go while encouraging everyone else to do the same." Whether this necessarily results, for musicians, in an increased orientation towards chart-worthiness, remains to be seen, but we'd say this has certainly worked in the case of Owens, whose new forerunning singles 'Love You Got', 'Higher' and 'Sunshine' combine overcast dance productions and pristine angel voices from Owens herself, resulting in a much brighter yet equally thunderous sound, and 'Sunshine' is our favourite, future-avant progressive house number here.